Amager

Amager (pronounced Am-ar) is an island connected to the eastern part of Copenhagen. Copenhagen is only 34 square miles (smaller than San Francisco) and has roughly 560,000 inhabitants. Today's weather was perfect-- mid 70's so I went on a long bike exploration to the other side of the Copenhagen metropolitan area.

My residence is flagged, I live in the Frederiksberg borough

1st stop: havnebadet Islands Brygge -  jumping 16 ft is so fun!!

After lounging at the harbor bath, I followed my internal compass east towards Amager. I had read rave reviews about Ismageriet  and went to try it out. I got a 3 kugle cone with pistachio ice cream and strawberry and elderflower sorbet, and a flødebolle (chocolate covered marshmallow). Fun fact: chocolate-coated marshmallows originate from Denmark and the Danes are the largest producers of these treats-- producing 800 million a year. Flødebolles and guf (marshmallow cream) are characteristic Danish ice cream toppings. Ismageriet definitely lived up to the hype-- possibly one of the best ice cream cones I've ever eaten. I am sure that it weighed at least two pounds and I enjoyed every lick of it :)

nothin' like ice cream on a warm summer day

Since I was already in Amager, I figured I should bike around the whole area. With my hand still sticky from my massive ice cream cone, I biked to Amager Strand (strand means beach). It was about 7pm when I got there so the crowd had subsided but the beach is packed on hot days.

On my bike ride home, I encountered a Danish rock concert in The City Hall Square. The band Dúné rocked out in front of a big crowd-- I thought they were pretty good!

This post was a bit rushed but I'm off to Berlin for my birthday weekend! Hejhej!

What do you eat in Copenhagen?

If you know me at all, you know that I love to eat. Luckily, I am in one of the world's gastronomic havens. Although I will not be eating at Noma, the world's #1 restaurant in the world, I have had my share of good food! (FYI: Noma's reservation book opens once a year and in half an hour, all tables are booked solid for the year). Food in Copenhagen is quite expensive, according to numbeo.com, restaurant prices are 55.26% higher here than in San Francisco. To live economically as a student and prevent myself from going bankrupt, I prepare most of my meals during the week. Since I am not the best chef and my kitchen is very modest, I eat a lot of fresh produce and eggs.

Salad: Arugula with jamon, walnuts, tomato, red bell pepper, cucumber, chive crackers and balsamic vinaigrette

Chocolate muesli with strawberries and milk

I love sandwiches

Spinach fettucini with frikadeller (meatballs)

Mother italian restaurant - Alisha and our salamina pizza

Back home, I don't drink much milk-- but because the dairy here is fantastic, I've drank several cartons. In line with consuming dairy to get 'cultured', I have also been eating a lot of ice cream. Soft is (soft serve) is very popular here and the average price for a lille cone is 25 krone ($4.55 USD). The price for regular two scoop cone is 30 krone ($5.34 USD). Although I have a penchant for sweets.. I do have to eat real food sometimes when I go out. In order to save time and money, I look for take-away food options instead of sit-down restaurants. 

Reinh van Hauen - Fragelite cake and Æggsalat sandiwich with shrimp and curry avocado creme (really good)

This is Harry's Place. Of the many pølsvogns in Denmark, this shop has been here for more than 50 years. Frequent clientele include prime ministers and locals alike. I got a huge 1/3 lb grilled pølser with bread. When I tried slicing the bread to place the sausage inside, the man behind the counter told me that the sausage was too big and the Danish way was to eat the bread as a side. I dipped the toasted bun in ketchup and mustard and ate it between sausage bites. When the man behind the counter saw a customer approaching, he warmed two buns and served them to him right when he reached the counter (good service for regulars). Mr. Regular ate the buns in the same manner that I was suggested, so I'm glad I fit in like a Dane :D

Fælledparken

An annual pro skateboard contest is happening in Copenhagen this week. My roommate and I decided to check out one of the free events yesterday at Fælledparken, one of Northern Europe's best and biggest skate parks. I took a cue from some young spectators and slid down the half-pipe ramp when the skaters were resting :D

Scarier than it looks!

Den lille havfrue

After class yesterday, the biker gang headed to Copenhagen's iconic landmark little mermaid statue. The statue based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name was commissioned by Carl Jacobsen in 1909 and unveiled in 1913. The Little Mermaid has been tormented since the mid 60's-- it has been decapitated twice, blown off its base by explosives, and had her right arm sawn off. Despite the abuse, the statue has been restored each time and has made it to its 100th anniversary!

I wish I had a fork to comb my hair

 Adjacent to The Little Mermaid statue is Kastellet, an old star fortress that now mainly serves as a public park and historic attraction.

Churchillparken 

St. Alban's Church, Copenhagen's Anglican church

Windmill on the King's Bastion - 1847

The Global Visionary - a 3 meter tall, 2.5 ton zinc sculpture symbolizes the key to the future

 On our way back to Frederiksberg, I took the gang to a park I found on one of my runs. This surprise discovery provided me a nice relief on my six mile run. I enjoy running throughout Copenhagen to explore different neighborhoods and get in some good training/exercise.

Three-story slide in Nørrebro

Solo Søndag

Today I ventured into the city to check out the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. To celebrate my credit card finally functioning, I treated myself to lunch at Andersen Café :)

Wienerbrød with jordbær (strawberry) and a classic Danish dog

After I finished my meal, I noticed a side door that exited to a hotel/bathroom area. I followed the sign and although I didn't find the bathroom, I did find myself in Tivoli! Tivoli is a famous amusement park in downtown Copenhagen. It is the second oldest amusement park in the world and still maintains it's old-world charm. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and the park also serves as a popular place for dining and people-watching. I walked around the park and wondered if other people had entered for free as well-- half of the visitors had yellow Tivoli wristbands but a good number of people didn't have a wristband. I continued walking around the park for about twenty minutes but then decided I ought to go back to the bakery and check on my bike (bike theft is a big problem in Copenhagen-- as of 2009, 222 bikes are stolen every day). Luckily, my bike was still standing where I left it and I headed around the block to the Tivoli's main entrance. I saw visitors showing their tickets on their mobile phones at the entrance and determined that it is (of course) not free to get in to the park. However, I am glad that I snuck myself in and got to enjoy the park for free :D

The otherside of the bakery/ thehotel that I walked through and ended up in Tivoli

Soft Is... started eating it before I took the pic-- whoops haha

Vaffelbageriet is consistently ranked as one of the best ice cream parlors in the world

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2013/05/18/best-ice-cream-parlors-in-the-world/2194411/

Happy Tivoli-goer 

I will come back to ride this on a nice day!

The Pantomime Theatre

The Steadfast Tin Soldier ballet 

After my lucky lunch stop, I biked to the Glyptotek, an art museum built by Carl Jacobsen. Glyptotek primarily houses ancient Mediterranean sculptures and currently has a great Degas exhibit. The collection of Degas paintings, pastels, sculptures, and drawings shows his mastery of several graphic disciplines.

Winter Garden - central atrium 

Headshot

Møns Klint

Yesterday I went on a school trip to the Cliffs of Møn. The cliffs are a two hour drive from Copenhagen, but well worth it. The limestone cliffs rise 128 meters above sea level and are the result of the ice melting at the end of the last ice age. We descended 994 steps down to the bottom of the cliffs and walked around the rocky beach. It smelled sulfurous and there were a lot of insects so I would not want to lounge here, but some Danes were enjoying water.

Helsingør & Bakken

On Friday (7/12) I went to Roskilde again to meet with Bunny and Bjarne. We met Lillian (Bunny's daughter-in-law for lunch) at a bagels to go place. Upon learning that I am taking a Danish language class, Bunny suggested a tongue twister that she thinks will get me a good mark on my final oral exam. The phrase is "rød grød med fløde" meaning red porridge with cream. I will practice that some more in hopes of impressing my teacher.. :D 

After lunch, we drove to Helsingør to see Kronborg Slot aka Hamlet's castle (Elsinore). Kronborg has served as a royal castle/fortress for almost 600 years. Bjarne, Bunny, and I explored the damp underground casemates. The underground passageways/rooms served as soldiers' quarters during war times. We then climbed 145 steps to the top of the telgraph tower. It was nice and warm on top of the roof and we had a great view of town (Helsingør) and Øresund (a strait between Denmark and Sweden). 

Kronborg Slot

Holger Danske - a legendary Medieval hero

Bjarne, Bunny, and I (Helsingbørg, Sweden is in the background across the strait!)

Our last stop of the day was Bakken, the world's oldest operating amusement park. We checked out the fairway games and watched the rides. One game that sparked my interest was a lottery wheel that had giant chocolate bars as the prize. Another fun amusement to watch was the strongman game-- instead of just winning a prize for striking the hammer hard enough to hit the bell, it is an endurance contest to see who can ring the bell the most consecutive times. We watched a guy break the daily record by hitting the bell 55 times. This seemed impressive to me, but the all-time record is 1035! 

Chocolate Lottery

Strongman Game